Device, system and method of automatic vessel access based on real time volumetric ultrasound
An automatic vessel access device based on real time volumetric ultrasound is provided. The automatic vessel access device comprises a probe configured to generate a VOI image of a candidate vessel in a real time volume ultrasound scan mode, a control device coupled to the probe, and at least one motor coupled to the control device. The control device comprises at least one processing module configured to determine at least one control parameter based on the VOI image, and a driver module coupled with the at least one processing module and configured to drive the at least one motor to automatically access the candidate vessel according to the at least one control parameter.
Latest General Electric Patents:
This application claims foreign priority benefits under 35 U.S.C. §119 to co-pending Chinese Patent Application No. 201110312383.2, filed Sep. 30, 2011, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety as part of the present disclosure.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONEmbodiments of the present invention generally relate to a device, a system and a method of automatic vessel access and, more particularly, to a device, a system and a method of automatic vessel access based on real time volumetric ultrasound.
Currently, blood vessel access of neonatology (for example: PIV, PAC, PICC, etc.) is generally accomplished by manual operation. However, blood vessel access of neonatology based on manual operation is difficult for the operator of vessel access because babies are so thin and weak that the operators need to have sufficient clinical experience to observe their vessels and perform manual vessel access. Moreover, this difficulty also exists for adults whose vessels are not very obvious.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,415,177, filed on Dec. 31, 1992 and issued on May 16, 1995, discloses a guide wire placement device. The device comprises a self-propelled device which can make the guide wire inside the cavity of the needle move into the candidate's vessel intravascular automatically upon the operator's manual penetration of the wall of a blood vessel by the needle.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/009,699 (Publication No. US2005/0182295 A1), filed on Dec. 10, 2004 and published on Aug. 18, 2005, discloses a visual assisted guidance device used to guide an endoscope to arrive a predetermined volume of interest within a lung during a Bronchoscope procedure, wherein non-invasive imaging technology such as HRCT is applied.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/598,053 (Publication No. US2010/0210934 A1), filed on May 7, 2008 and published on Aug. 19, 2010, discloses a method and a device to place an intravenous catheter using guide wire assistance, which is used in the catheter insertion and blood collection fields.
Although the teaching of the above patents or patent applications provide certain assisted features and inspirations for vessel access operation, the operators have to see the vessel and guarantee that a needle is inserted manually into the vessel wall before automatically moving a guide wire to an advanced position. This is still a challenge to vessel access of neonates.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccording to an embodiment of the present invention, an automatic vessel access device based on real time volumetric ultrasound is provided. The automatic vessel access device comprises a probe configured to generate a VOI image of a candidate vessel in a real time volume ultrasound scan mode, a control device coupled to the probe, and at least one motor coupled to the control device. The control device comprises at least one processing module configured to determine at least one control parameter based on the VOI image, and a driver module coupled with the at least one processing module and configured to drive the at least one motor to automatically access the candidate vessel according to the at least one control parameter.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, an automatic vessel access device based on real time volumetric ultrasound is provided. The automatic vessel access device comprises a probe coupled to an ultrasound scanner module, wherein the ultrasound scanner module is configured to generate a VOI image of a candidate vessel in a real time volumetric ultrasound scan mode by using the probe, a control module coupled with the ultrasound scanner module and comprising at least one processing module configured to determine at least one control parameter according to the VOI image, and a motor driver module coupled with the control module and configured to drive the operation of at least one motor to automatically access the candidate vessel according to the at least one control parameter.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, an automatic vessel access method based on real time volumetric ultrasound is provided. The method comprises setting a probe to a real time volumetric ultrasound scan mode, generating a VOI image of a candidate vessel by using the probe, determining at least one control parameter according to the VOI image; and using the at least one control parameter to automatically control vessel access.
These and other features, aspects and advantage of the embodiments of the present invention can be better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
According to embodiments of the present invention, an operator can accurately insert a needle without seeing the vessel, i.e. automatically (for example, fully-automatically or semi-automatically) accomplish different types of vessel access procedures such as PIV, PAC and PICC.
After determining an appropriate candidate vessel by using any well-known or new vessel selecting method, embodiments of the present invention provide a device, a system and a method of automatic vessel access based on real time volumetric ultrasound to automatically control the needle to insert into the candidate vessel, thus, to automatically accomplish a vessel access operation.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, an automatic vessel access device based on real time volumetric ultrasound is provided. The device comprises a probe configured to generate a VOI image of a candidate vessel in real time volumetric ultrasound scan mode, a control device coupled to the probe including at least one processing module used to determine at least one control parameter according to the VOI image, and at least one motor coupled to the control device to accomplish the automatic vessel access, wherein, the control device further comprises a driver module coupled to the at least one processing module, which is configured to drive operation of the at least one motor according to the at least one control parameter.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, an automatic vessel access system based on real time volumetric ultrasound is provided. The system comprises an ultrasound scanner module configured to use the probe coupled to it to generate a VOI image of a candidate vessel in a real time volumetric ultrasound scan mode, a control module coupled to the ultrasound scanner module comprising at least one processing module used to determine at least one control parameter according to the VOI image, and a motor driver module coupled to the control module configured to drive the operation of the at least one motor to accomplish the automatic vessel access according to the at least one control parameter.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, an automatic vessel access method based on real time volumetric ultrasound is provided. The method comprises setting a probe to a real time volumetric ultrasound scan mode, generating a VOI image of a candidate vessel by using the probe, determining at least one control parameter according to the VOI image, and automatically controlling vessel access using the at least one control parameter.
The term vessel access in this disclosure includes, but is not limited to, intravenous injection, arterial injection, and any procedure of placing material or a device into a vessel. Moreover, the term ‘automatic in this disclosure includes both fully-automatic (i.e. almost no manual intervene exists) and semi-automatic (i.e. certain manual intervene exists). That is, when automatic is used alone in this disclosure, it means that there could be certain extents of manual intervention or no manual intervention during a vessel access procedure. Furthermore, the term needle in this disclosure includes, but is not limited to, an injection needle, a hollow needle with devices such as catheter, and any object that is appropriate to insert through human tissue for accomplishing vessel access.
The left side of
Next is a brief description of how to project VOI containing vessel image into 2D plane projection with reference to
The above description uses B mode and CF mode of real time volumetric ultrasound scan as an example to illustrate the exemplary procedure to obtain the top view image and side view image of a desired vessel by using the probe. However, those skilled in the art should appreciate that the above description is only exemplary, and various improvements and modifications can be made on the selection of scan modes, the determination of vessel types, the concrete projection types, etc., without departure from the scope of the present invention.
An embodiment of the automatic vessel access procedure based on real time volumetric ultrasound is described above with reference to
In an embodiment of the present invention, one can use the semi-automatic vessel access device in
The procedure of how to accomplish semi-automatic vessel access with the intervention of an operator is described above with reference to the device of
Comparing
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the control module 605 further includes a selection module, which can be used to configure the ultrasound module 602 according to instructions input by a user (for example, through an input device (not shown) coupled to the control module 605), so that the ultrasound module 602 will perform volumetric ultrasound scans in B mode and/or CF mode. Moreover, the concrete types, calculation methodologies of the above control parameters have been described in detail with reference to
After a processing module in the control module 605 calculates the corresponding control parameters, a motor driver module coupled to the control module 605 (for example, stepper motor driver module 606) will control the corresponding motor according to the above control parameters, thus controlling the spatial position and inserting depth, etc. of the probe 601 and the needle (not shown). In an embodiment, the stepper motor driver module 606 is integrated within the automatic vessel access system 604, but it can be also a separate device. In an embodiment of the present invention, the stepper motor driver module 606 drives four stepper motors, so as to control a probe rotation 607, a probe shift 608, a needle rotation 609 and a needle inserting 610 respectively.
In the embodiment described with reference to
An implementation of the fully-automatic vessel access procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to the schematic diagram of fully-automatic vessel access device 700 shown in
Those skilled in the art will understand that the automatic vessel access procedures described above, and other procedures, can be stored in advance in a memory (not shown) coupled with a control device in the form of executable code that can be recognized and processed by the control device (for example, computer program), so that the automatic vessel access procedure can be accomplished by invoking executable code in the memory through the control device when needed. The memory may include, but is not limited to, ROM memory, RAM memory, etc.
The fully-automatic vessel access device 700 in
Moreover, according to an embodiment of the present invention, modifications can be made to the fully-automatic vessel access device 700 to form a semi-automatic vessel access device (not shown). For example, the probe shift motor 701 and the probe rotation motor 702 can be removed from the fully-automatic vessel access device 700 and a monitor (not shown) for displaying a vessel real time top view can be added, so that the operator can adjust the probe 703 to a desired position relative to the baby's arm 704 according to the display on the monitor. Similarly, the needle rotation motor 706 and the needle inserting motor 708 can be removed from the fully-automatic vessel access device 700, and a monitor (not shown) for displaying a vessel real time side view can be added, so that the operator can insert the needle 707 accurately into the candidate vessel of the baby's arm 704 according to the display on the monitor.
Embodiments of the present invention replace manual operation with automatic operation. Thus, a vessel access procedure can be accomplished with or without manual monitoring by using the device, system and method according to embodiments of the present invention. Usage of the device, system and method according to embodiments of the present invention can make a needle insertion path more accurate and steady, thus improving vessel access procedure success rate. In other words, embodiments of the present invention can reduce time consumption of vessel access, decrease the pain of the patients subject to vessel access, and lower the burden on the vessel access operators.
Moreover, since the device, system and method of automatic vessel access based on real time volumetric ultrasound according to embodiments of the present invention support fully-automatic vessel access, it is useful under circumstances when medical personal are scarce, for example, when a disaster happens.
Furthermore, the automatic vessel access devices according to embodiments of the present invention use commercially available common motors, thus the cost of manufacturing of the devices is low.
This written description uses examples to disclose embodiments of the present invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the present invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the present invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.
Claims
1. An automatic vessel access device based on real time volumetric ultrasound, the automatic vessel access device-comprising:
- a probe configured to generate a VOI image of a candidate vessel in a real time volume ultrasound scan mode;
- a control device in communication with the probe; and
- at least one motor in communication with the control device,
- the control device comprising at least one processing module configured to determine at least one control parameter based on the VOI image, and a driver module in communication with the at least one processing module and configured to operate the at least one motor according to the at least one control parameter,
- wherein the VOI image includes a side view and a top view of a volume of interest of the candidate vessel, and the side view and the top view are acquired by using minimum intensity projection; and the processing module determines a needle insertion angle and a needle inserting distance as the control parameters based on the position of the candidate vessel in the side view, and determines a probe rotation angle and a probe shift offset as the control parameters based on the position of the candidate vessel in the top view.
2. The automatic vessel access device of claim 1, wherein the at least one motor is configured to perform at least one of: controlling the shift of the probe, controlling the rotation of the probe, controlling the rotation of the needle, and controlling the insertion of the needle, the motor being used to perform on the basis of the probe rotation angle, the probe shift offset, the needle insertion angle and the needle inserting distance determined as the control parameters.
3. The automatic vessel access device of claim 1, wherein the real time volumetric ultrasound scan mode comprises at least one of a B mode and a CF mode, and wherein the control device further comprises a selection module configured to select the corresponding real time volumetric ultrasound scan mode according to a user requirement.
4. The automatic vessel access device of claim 3, wherein the control device further comprises a determination module configured to determine the candidate vessel according to a blood flow direction.
5. The automatic vessel access device of claim 4, wherein the candidate vessel is one of a vein and an artery.
6. The automatic vessel access device of claim 1, wherein the at least one motor comprises:
- a probe shift motor configured to control the shift of the probe; and
- a probe rotation motor configured to control the rotation of the probe,
- wherein, after the probe is shifted and rotated to a desired position by the probe shift motor and the probe rotation motor, the probe calculates the parameters associated with the needle.
7. The automatic vessel access device of claim 6, wherein the at least one motor further comprises:
- a needle rotation motor configured to control the rotation of the needle; and
- a needle inserting motor configured to control the insertion of the needle,
- wherein, after the probe is shifted and rotated to the desired position by the probe shift motor and the probe rotation motor, the needle rotation motor and the needle insertion motor are controlled according to the calculated parameters associated with the needle.
8. An automatic vessel access system based on real time volumetric ultrasound, the automatic vessel access system comprising:
- a probe in communication with an ultrasound scanner module, wherein the ultrasound scanner module is configured to generate a VOI image of a candidate vessel in a real time volumetric ultrasound scan mode by using the probe;
- a control module in communication with the ultrasound scanner module and comprising at least one processing module configured to determine at least one control parameter according to the VOI image; and
- a motor driver module in communication with the control module and configured to operate at least one motor to achieve the automatic vessel access according to the at least one control parameter,
- wherein the VOI image includes a side view and a top view of a volume of interest of the candidate vessel, and the side view and the top view are acquired by using minimum intensity projection; and the processing module determines a needle insertion angle and a needle inserting distance as the control parameters based on the position of the candidate vessel in the side view, and determines a probe rotation angle and a probe shift offset as the control parameters based on the position of the candidate vessel in the top view.
9. The automatic vessel access system of claim 8, wherein the at least one motor is configured to perform at least one of: controlling the shift of the probe, controlling the rotation of the probe, controlling the rotation of a needle, and controlling the insertion of the needle, the motor being used to perform on the basis of the probe rotation angle, the probe shift offset, the needle insertion angle and the needle inserting distance determined as the control parameters.
10. The automatic vessel access system of claim 8, wherein the real time volumetric ultrasound scan mode comprises at least one of a B mode and a CF mode, and wherein the control module further comprises a selection module configured to select the corresponding real time volumetric ultrasound scan mode according to a user requirement.
11. The automatic vessel access system of claim 10, wherein the control module further comprises a determination module configured to determine the candidate vessel according to a blood flow direction.
12. The automatic vessel access system of claim 11, wherein the candidate vessel is one of a vein and an artery.
13. The automatic vessel access system of claim 8, wherein the at least one motor comprises:
- a probe shift motor configured to control the shift of the probe; and
- a probe rotation motor configured to control the rotation of the probe,
- wherein, after the probe is shifted and rotated to a desired position by the probe shift motor and the probe rotation motor, the probe calculates the parameters associated with the needle.
14. The automatic vessel access system of claim 13, wherein the at least one motor further comprises:
- a needle rotation motor configured to control the rotation of the needle; and
- a needle insertion motor configured to control the insertion of the needle,
- wherein, after the probe is shifted and rotated to the desired position by the probe shift motor and the probe rotation motor, the needle rotation motor and the needle insertion motor are controlled according to the calculated parameters associated with needle.
15. An automatic vessel access method based on real time volumetric ultrasound, the method comprising:
- setting a probe to a real time volumetric ultrasound scan mode;
- generating a VOI image of a candidate vessel by using the probe, wherein the VOI image includes a side view and a top view of a volume of interest of the candidate vessel, and acquiring the side view and the top view by using minimum intensity projection;
- determining at least one control parameter according to the VOI image;
- using the at least one control parameter to control vessel access automatically; and
- determining a needle insertion angle and a needle inserting distance as the control parameters based on the position of the candidate vessel in the side view, and determines a probe rotation angle and a probe shift offset as the control parameters based on the position of the candidate vessel in the top view.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the real time volumetric ultrasound scan mode comprises at least one of a B mode and a CF mode.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the candidate vessel is determined according to a blood flow direction.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the candidate vessel is one of a vein and an artery.
5415177 | May 16, 1995 | Zadini |
6068599 | May 30, 2000 | Saito et al. |
6361499 | March 26, 2002 | Bates et al. |
6695786 | February 24, 2004 | Wang et al. |
8123691 | February 28, 2012 | Mine et al. |
20050182295 | August 18, 2005 | Soper et al. |
20080195043 | August 14, 2008 | Schwach et al. |
20080221519 | September 11, 2008 | Schwach et al. |
20090275823 | November 5, 2009 | Ayati et al. |
20100177177 | July 15, 2010 | Sonnemans et al. |
20100210934 | August 19, 2010 | Belson |
20100312109 | December 9, 2010 | Satoh |
20110166451 | July 7, 2011 | Blaivas et al. |
1636520 | July 2005 | CN |
101175520 | May 2006 | CN |
101076284 | November 2007 | CN |
101193595 | June 2008 | CN |
101681514 | March 2010 | CN |
1348377 | October 2003 | EP |
6216744 | January 1987 | JP |
08138077 | May 1996 | JP |
2002102221 | April 2002 | JP |
2005058584 | March 2005 | JP |
2006111939 | October 2006 | WO |
2006120619 | November 2006 | WO |
- Unofficial English translation of Chinese Office Action and Search Report issued in connection with corresponding CN Application No. 201110312383.2 on Jan. 4, 2016.
- Office Action issued in connection with orresponding CN Application No. 201110312383.2 dated on Jun. 22, 2016.
- Japanese Search Report issued in connection with corresponding JP Application No. 2012-209038 dated Jul. 29, 2016.
- Office Action issued in connection with corresponding JP Application No. 2012209038 dated on Sep. 6, 2016.
Type: Grant
Filed: Sep 28, 2012
Date of Patent: Aug 15, 2017
Patent Publication Number: 20130090600
Assignee: General Electric Company (Schenectady, NY)
Inventors: Gang Liu (Liaoning), You Chen (Jiangsu), Liping Chen (Jiangsu), Shuxiu Wang (Jiangsu)
Primary Examiner: Joseph M Santos Rodriguez
Application Number: 13/630,710
International Classification: A61M 5/00 (20060101); A61B 8/08 (20060101); A61B 90/00 (20160101); A61M 25/09 (20060101); A61M 25/01 (20060101); A61B 17/34 (20060101);